Since first being attached to the project in 2020 and later confirmed as lead and producer in 2025, Zendaya has steadily shaped the upcoming Ronnie Spector biopic at A24 into one of the most anticipated music films in development.
Directed by Barry Jenkins and based on Spector’s memoir Be My Baby, the project is rooted in a life story marked by early fame with The Ronettes and a turbulent personal history that has already been widely documented across previous adaptations and reports.
In recent comments, the lead actress has suggested that the film will not follow the familiar structure of traditional musical biopics, which often rely on linear storytelling and milestone-driven narratives.
Inside Be My Baby: Zendaya and a Biopic That Breaks the Rules
The long-gestating A24 project centered on Ronnie Spector has steadily taken shape since it was first developed in 2020, with Zendaya attached from early stages and later confirmed to star and produce.
Directed by Barry Jenkins and based on Spector’s memoir Be My Baby, the film revisits the rise of the Ronettes frontwoman and her turbulent life behind one of the most recognizable voices in 1960s pop.
According to multiple reports, Spector herself had previously selected Zendaya for the role before her passing in 2022, a detail that has become central to the project’s emotional weight and long development history .
Rather than following a conventional cradle-to-stardom structure, the film is being described as a more immersive interpretation of Spector’s life, shaped heavily by perspective, memory, and emotional tone.
Jenkins’ involvement has further strengthened expectations of a stylized, character-driven approach, consistent with his work on Moonlight, where narrative rhythm often prioritizes internal experience over linear biography .
Within that framework, Zendaya’s comments about a “non-traditional direction” align with the project’s broader creative identity: a biopic that appears less interested in recounting milestones than in capturing what it felt like to live them, particularly during Spector’s years navigating fame, control, and reinvention under intense public scrutiny.